The text comprises the evaluation of relationship between the
qualitative planning tools and the Irish housing policy in the
pre-crisis period, during the crisis (2009-2013) and the recovery. The
tools that affect housing are understood as spatial planning, including
governmental regulations on densification of the development and the
housing quality as well as the special tools such as the urban design.
Those regulatory tools were deployed with aims to safeguard the
sustainable and socially viable housing structures. The Irish case
illustrates the considerable innovation in introducing new housing
standards and challenges with their efficiency. This can be attributed
to the lack of integration with other elements that shaped the market –
financing and actions of the private market, low efficiency of planning
or the lack of the scale effect for the model developments. Despite
their drawbacks these tools are continuously being used, as their
foundational principles are still valid.